Out of love for God and neighbor we desire deeply to see principalities and powers redirected towards more noble pursuits. The law of love always finds shortcomings in the laws of this world. So God’s shalom beckons every system and structure to learn from the humble and meek way of Jesus. Rather than pledging allegiance to any worldly form of justice we lean into the dream of shalom for the whole world and work eagerly towards that end. In the already and not-yet reality of God’s kingdom we recognize our efforts will at times be thwarted, but as we lean into God’s future kingdom we bare witness to a world that is to come.

Compassion is the embodiment of our impulse to act first out of love. It challenges us to lay down our lives for friend. Along with the way of contemplation and hospitality we come to learn that for friends of Jesus everyone becomes friend. This love spills over across all borders, disputes over words, and even familial, tribal, and national allegiances.

Our commitment to leaning into the way of compassion always gives the benefit of the doubt to a loving and merciful response. We follow Jesus as he gathers the children, feed the hungry, cloths the naked, heals the sick, and shows mercy to the sinner.

Hospitality: the way of welcoming the other

This is a movement of expectation. It is our expectation to meet God in the stranger. As Augustine said, “Every meeting is a divine encounter, every encounter an exchange of gifts.” We welcome the guest with the anticipation of a reversal of roles where the guest becomes the host, and the host becomes guest as both receive a blessing in God’s divine economy. As Mother Teresa often said, we look for Christ in the distressed disguise of the poor and broken.

This way moves us towards compassion and justice free from a spirit of elitism and patriarchy. As we welcome everyone as a gift from God we receive friendship with the other in the same way receive friendship from Jesus.

Contemplation is a prayerful way of life. It is the God directed life. Through contemplation we seek unity with God in Christ by the power of the Spirit. We follow Jesus to the quiet places to wait, listen, and learn.

There can be no action without solitude and prayer, communally and individually. By this we recognize that all good gifts come from our Father in heaven. Our lives are fast paced and spinning out of control. We must slow down. So many of us need to quiet our hearts long enough to hear God say to us “you are my beloved.” As a child needs a mothers caress, we need to bath in the loving embrace of God. As we live in the present movement, in assurance of God’s love, we become a gift for the world.

It’s interesting to note the so called Christian "mystics" were called this by their detractors. A more generous label of Bernard of Clairvaux John of the Cross, or Teresa of Avila would be "contemplatives."

We are just getting started. Join us in the adventure. We are all novice Friends of Saint Stephen. You can begin by simply committing to the our Rule and its six "ways." We highly recommend submitting yourself to the actions below as a way to get started.

• Commit yourself to the Rule
• Try to find one tangible practice connected with each way (Contemplation, Compassion, Justice, Hospitality, Journey, and Church) and experiment with it. Learn as you go, and talk with others and God about your journey.
• Commit yourself to a local church
• Whatever the form, find a worshiping community where you can attend to the means of grace—through worship, Eucharist, the giving and receiving of council, spiritual direction, etc.
• Take a yearly pilgrimage
• Whether it’s one day or one week. Go on an adventure with the only expectation being to communion with God. You can spend it at a monastery, in a park, an unknown town or city. But it should be planned in advance. Allow the anticipation to grow within you. You don’t have to go alone. Take another pilgrim or even a bunch.
• Creatively observe the Christian calendar
• Start small: Make special Holy Week—then maybe expand to allow the rhythm all the seasons enrich your journey (experiment with observing the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost)
• Pray for the unity of the church

How? …in all things and in small things. People begin this journey at different points of entry with different passions and levels of practice. This is why our Way is intentionally flexible. It is not rigid. Our hope is that it will be lived out in many different environments and thus emerge in many different forms and structures. You can commit yourself to this way as an individual, as a small group, as a larger community of faith. You can start a community house, a house church, a ministry to the poor, broken, or other. You can live this in your high school, your college, or your one bedroom apartment. Whether you’re a student, truck driver, carpenter, doctor, or anything else, you can be part of this friendship.

Firstly, St. Stephen is said to be one of the first Christian martyrs. He was charged with caring for those in need by his community. We claim this history as our own.

Secondly, the first Church of the Nazarene in Los Angeles (Founded in 1897 under the leadership of Rev. Phineas Bresee and Dr. J.P. Widney) was famous for its commitment to preach the gospel to all people, to care for the poor and broken wherever they had need. They named it the Church of the Nazarene to mean the church on the wrong side of the tracks with the hopes that later generations would never forget its humble roots. Early on in the life of this church a group of young men gathered together and called themselves the Brotherhood of St. Stephen. As part of this vibrant church they gave themselves to the work of preaching the gospel, compassion, and justice. We claim this history as our own.

This community is not unique. We are not special. We are not better Christians. We are not more humble. We are not more holy. We are not distinctive. We are very ordinary. We stand in a long line of unworthy servants who knew that to love God and neighbor, appropriately and beautifully, we must be serious about the pursuit and we must do it together with others. So we join hands with anyone who would join hands with us.

We are not a church. We are not para-church. We are not anti-church. We love the church and are dazzled by its’ beauty and grace—and sadden by its failings. In baptism we are committed to the church, the Body of Christ--a family that extends across time and place. In fact we would not exist without the Church and its local expressions. As members of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church we don’t need to say everything. This community does not have doctrines of its own. Instead we a have a common life together centered around a Way of living. We want our lives to do the talking. This is why we assume those participating in this community’s existence are also experiencing life in a local community of faith. In fact we encourage one another to work for Christian unity and to live together in peace.

Communities often speak of a cause, a purpose, a mission, a vision, core values, or convictions. We talk of a Way. What does it mean to say we have a Way? We are on a journey—an adventure in communal discovery. We are apprentices who desire to sit at the feet of our Master. Many have lived this Way before us. So we look to the saints, those living and those past, for wisdom and guidance. The way we are talking about is the way of Jesus. It is interesting to note that early disciples of Jesus referred to their movement as “The Way.”

By no means have we made an exhaustive list of all it means to live the way of Jesus together in community. It’s really just a starting point—a good one we think, but just a start.

• We seek contemplative lives because of our deep longing for union with God and others.

• We seek to live lives of generous hospitality because it has been so powerful in the transformation of God’s people.

• We seek compassion because often our love is so shabby.

• We seek justice because we believe God desires to make all things new.

• We seek to always be on a journey because it is easy for us to get too comfortable and complacent.

• We seek always the unity of the Church.

Dear Friends,
In every age the Holy Spirit is at work drawing us into union with God through Christ Jesus. Every new generation discovers the mystery and beauty of the gospel as well as the rich treasure in the scriptures and the lives of saints gone before. This discovery, of course, is a mixed bag of old and new. But, its character is unmistakable. Justin Martyr, speaking of his conversion said, “I was seized by the love of God and the friends of Christ.” Can you relate? As the character and presence of Christ comes newly alive in our communities, we adapt, organize and stretch to keep up with what God is at work doing. The best we can do is to find out what God is doing and get on board. That’s what this community is all about. We see God at work in our lives giving us new visions and new dreams. We can’t wait to see that it in store for us. We are trying to keep up. God is out in front and we don’t want to be left behind in the dust.

Allow us to quickly give voice to what we think is happening.

Many are rediscovering the church’s rich commitment to the poor and broken of our world.

Many sense that God still desires to free us from our addiction to self in order to live freely for others. We are finally recognizing this does not occur by our strength, but only as we explore and experience union with God through Christ.

Many are expressing the need to explore the depth and breath of the church universal. Breath: Our own traditions have become a trailhead for the exploration other traditions. Our Roman Catholic, and Orthodox brothers and sisters have much to teach us. Depth: Many of the resources the church needs for the 21st century can be found the previous centuries. We are excited that this rediscovery is renewing our practice of corporate worship and spiritual disciplines.

Many are sensing it to be a critical time to pray and work for the unity of the Church.

Many recognize following Jesus necessitates a shared way of life with others—that it requires vulnerability and stability, work and prayer. And, in this pursuit we believe the monastic traditions have much to teach us.

So if God is making new wine, we want to help hang a new wineskin. If God is making new wineskins, then we want to be sure to be in that new skin intermingled with the wine. In fact we want to drown ourselves drunk in it. (Metaphorically speaking of course)

We are followers of Jesus committed to the work of the church. In order to live fully our calling as disciples we commit ourselves to this way of life. We recognize our dependence on the grace of God as well as our dependence upon one another. So with God’s help we unite together as we commit ourselves to:

Contemplation: the way of prayer

Hospitality: the way of welcoming the other

Compassion: the way of outward love

Justice: the way towards a better world

Journey: the way of pilgrimage

Church: the way of Christian unity

One of my favourite stories of the scriptures happens as two disciples are traveling the road towards Emmaus days after the resurrection. They welcome a fellow traveler into their conversation and eventually to their dinner table only to find out they were welcoming Jesus all along.

Benedictines to this day make it a practice to have an empty place setting at the dinner table in case a stranger or even Jesus would decide to join them for a meal.

Early Christians lived with a sense of expectation that Christ would appear in the stranger they met along the road. Stories circulated about heroic acts of hospitality. The story of Polycarp's martyrdom is actually a hospitability narrative encouraging those who were part of The Way to practice this virtue even unto death.

Most of us are familiar with the story of Jean Val Jean (sp?) in Victor Hugo's "Les Mes." Jean Val Jean is welcomed into the bishop’s home and proceeds to steal his best silver. When the police catch him they bring him to the bishop who tells the police that he had given it to Jean Val Jean freely. The bishop’s show of grace and forgiveness is catalyst for transformation if Jean's life. Hospitality story?

In my twenties I lived in an intentional Christian community in Kansas City. One afternoon Lance, a member of our community, glanced out the door to see what looked like a homeless gentleman on the porch across the street. Lance made a cup of coffee, walked across the street, climbed the stairs, greeted the man and offered a cup of warm brew. The man turned to him and asked, "Are you and angel." Lance quickly replied, "No, are you?" This story always reminds me of the command in Hebrews to not neglect providing hospitality to strangers, for some have welcomed angels without knowing it.

St. Augustine said, "Every meeting is a divine encounter, every encounter an exchange of gifts." Maybe you've witnessed this sort of thing. I think one of the things compelling us to start the Order of St. Stephen is a thirst to renew the practice of Christian hospitality as an essential way of life.

Please share a hospitality story with us. (Lance, sorry that I stole yours already)

Wow, we have been totally blown away by the response to this Blog. We only went live with it last week. Nearly 500 people have visited since it was posted. 20+ left comments and we’ve received about 60 e-mails of interest, some of which have been followed up with several hours of phone conversation.

So, what's next? Over the next couple of weeks we want to gather a list of people interested in participating in a virtual vision casting exercise. During that process we will begin to craft some core convictions that might be fashioned into an OSS Rule or covenant. We also want to hear all the inspired and crazy ideas that people generate when dreaming about OSS. I've had persons contact me interested in the development of an OSS monastic community. Another suggested a retreat center. Still another publishing discipleship and spiritual formation materials for use within the church. Others have mentioned gatherings and social action. We have heard from several who are currently living in some form of intentional community and wondering how OSS might connect with their way of life. Some of you are making your way here through emerging church circles, others through compassionate ministries, and others through new monasticism.

Many want to know what is it we are going to DO, and when are we going to begin doing it? I'm sensitive to this question. I for one don't want to sit around and do nothing and talk ad infinitum about some grand idea. But I'm also sensitive to the notion that this must be being/doing conversation. When I say hospitality, contemplation, compassion, justice, many of you know these as more than good ideas, you are living into these words. Others are looking for a foot hold, something to nurture an inner longing to live an adventurous and full life for the sake of the Kingdom. The 'doing' must continue, it must never cease for the sake of 'being.' Yet now is also at time to think, pray, and create.

Let us clarify something really important. If OSS ever becomes something significant in our lives or in the common life of the church, it is because it is a movement of God's Spirit. The desire and passion we have tapped into is the result of God's provision for the church. It is not part of a revolution or a revolt. It ought to avoid at all costs a spirit of triumphalism or a holiness that so easily becomes ‘holier-than-thou-ness.’ If it is the sweet holiness of God then it will be filled with power, purity, compassion, mercy, and justice that are a blessing for the world. So let us be reminded to remain meek and humble like our Lord.

Lastly, you are all important in this continuing conversation. Whether you have been part of the initial discussions or find yourself joining in for the first time today you are welcome to be part of OSS. Please continue to e-mail us with your comments and suggestions. nazarenemonks@gmail.com

Two quick items

1. If you want to be part of the virtual vision casting exercise please let us know within the next week. (Sorry, we will limit the number of participants for the sake of discussion. But we will report what's going on for wider comments on the Blog.

2. We would like to start a discussion on this Blog about hospitality, contemplation, compassion, and justice. Stay tuned for that.

Again feel free to e-mail us at nazarenemonks@gmail.com

Peace

In the closing years of the 19th century the Church of the Nazarene was birthed in Los Angeles California. Gathered were a group of Christians interested in proclaiming the radical optimism of God's love and grace to people on the margins. The early work of this new movement defied societal and class boundaries. Compassion and justice were inextricably linked to the holy call to love God and neighbor--no holiness but social holiness. People were added to their number daily who testified to lives changed by the grace of God.

We have inherited this great tradition. There was nothing new about their gospel, it was the same one preached and lived by John Wesley and the Methodists, no different than Saints Francis and Claire and their band of brothers and sisters, no different than the early Christians who attended faithfully to the widows, orphans, and the poor, no different than Jesus eating and drinking with outsiders.

The Order of Saint Stephen is a community of brothers and sisters who are banding together to live this gospel as a way of life.

We are recovering the Order of Saint Stephen which was part of that first Church of the Nazarene in LA. In so doing we desire to rediscover the potency of their commitment to hospitality, contemplation, compassion, and justice.

Over the next few months we will be gathering a group of brothers and sisters interested in joining with us. Over time we will begin to develop a common rule (or covenant). If this post leaves you interested, if you have any questions, or if you would like to join us on the journey please feel free to comment on this page or e-mail us nazarenemonks@gmail.com